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TEA DISTRICTS OF CHINA. Chap. VIII. 



water to the priests' houses. " Did not the water 

 rise perpendicularly in them, and to any height he 

 pleased ? " It did, but not on the siphon principle, 

 for the source of the spring which supplied these 

 pipes was high up on the hill-side. 



In a day or two I left the temple, in company with 

 my two friends, for the lakes of Tung-hoo. Having 

 engaged boats, we sailed over the lakes and visited 

 all their shores. When it was known that one of my 

 companions was a medical man, he had many appli- 

 cations from " the sick, the maimed, and the blind," 

 who fancied he could heal all manner of diseases. 

 During an interview which the Doctor had with one 

 old man, a laughable incident occurred. My friend 

 supposed, from what the man said, that he wished to 

 tender a fee ; but upon inquiry it turned out, on the 

 contrary, that he was trying to make the Doctor 

 understand that his advice and assistance could only 

 be taken if they were given gratis ! 



During the three days we were here I had my 

 hands full enough in collecting objects of natural his- 

 tory. The shores of the lakes were rich in plants, 

 and richer still in insects. Many of the latter are 

 perfectly new to entomologists, but my collections are 

 not yet arranged and examined. 



I could have lingered much longer in this part of 

 the country, but my servants had returned from the 

 Bohea mountains, and my holidays, for the present, 

 had terminated. I therefore returned to Ning-po, and i 

 made preparations for another and perhaps still more 

 important journey. 



